You may have met this little guy in my gallery already. He's called Rex Darwin-Rhind(Rex is his given name, Darwin is his axolotl parents' surname and Rhind is thesurname of the human who grew him) and he lives in a big aquarium tankin my living room. He's an axolotl and since axolotls are officially thecutest creatures in the world (cause I say so, ok?), here aresome more, in various mediums, for you to squee and aww over...

So earlier today I thought it might be nice to log in to dA and check out some of the new features I've become aware of through other people's posts on Facebook and Twitter. OH MY GOD, I have missed this place so much and after not very long browsing around, I decided that I couldn't stay away. I quite like the feed stuff on the front page and the wee status update module. I know it's all social-media-y, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Maybe I just take dA less seriously than I used to and can look at new features now and think "Oh, new features" rather than "OMG WHY MUST EVERYTHING CHANGE?!".

I've missed sharing my art here, especially over the last year when I've been on a mission to experiment with different tools and processes in my photography. I wrote a blog post about that if you want to waste some time reading my introspective ramblings. I've missed looking at other people's art...friends' art, strangers' art, random art. I think the reason for my "blergh, I need to be away from dA for a while" feelings earlier this year was a weird kind of burn out. I've been a Community Volunteer twice, I've run a bunch of groups and adminned others and I'd reached a point where I felt like I was doing dA properly if I wasn't writing lots of in-depth comments and critiques. Yep, I actually felt guilty for not doing that stuff, which is utterly ridiculous. dA hasn't been about JUST the art for me for a long time and I really think it needs to be for me to be happy here.

I'm toying with the idea of starting a small group for artistic photography created with mobile devices, if there's enough interest to make it worthwhile. I've submitted some photos from the last few months. I've reactivated all my watchy stuff, left some groups I don't submit to any more and streamlined my watch list to only include people who have been active over the last year or so. I will make an effort to reply to comments cause I'm not an asshole. I doubt that I'm ever going to be super involved in a bazillion different things on dA again the way I used to be, but I'm ok with that. I'm here for the art, wherever that takes me.

I feel like I should say something here because I'm hardly ever on dA these days and I don't want to be one of those people who just vanishes without a word. I'm not like OMGLEAVINGFOREVER or anything that dramatic. It's just that other things in my life take up more time and energy so I haven't found myself frequenting these parts so much. I've been on dA for over 9 years and have gone through periods of spending hours every day here and periods of not being here at all. It's just the way things go for me.

I've added a list of links to all the other places me and my work can be found online in my deviantID, so if you'd like to keep in touch those are good places to start. I don't post my personal Facebook anywhere ever and all the stuff I have listed as photography links are specifically photography-related and not really social. My personal Twitter or Tumblr, or Instagram, are good places to find me-being-me, albeit under a different name.

As for my activity on dA, I've disabled everything in my message centre except for the things that can't be disabled. I'm in the process of arranging to hand the groups I admin over to other people. I may still post photography or writing here from time to time, but probably not that much to be honest. I've left my gallery, journal and prints all as they are cause I have no reason to delete or remove anything at this point. If you really want to get hold of me via dA and don't have any other way to contact me, send a note but don't expect a timely reply. My stock account still exists, although I pretty much never log in to it.

As far as life-stuff goes, things are pretty interesting at the moment and are definitely keeping me busy. My husband and I are running an IT business, I'm managing social media and online presence for a local art performance charity and as of February 2015 I'll be working towards a BSc (Hons) in Forensic Psychology. I still take photos, although my health mostly prevents the kind of shoots I used to do, and I still write. I can't imagine that I'll ever stop doing these things.

Much love to everyone on dA who has inspired me, supported me and encouraged me. There will always be a special place in my heart for this site and the people who have made it what it is over the years. It is a truly unique community and an amazing resource. If you have just found your way here, I hope you find what you're looking for.

- E A R T H -

- A I R -

- F I R E -

- W A T E R -

I just posted my first photo here in for-bloody-ever. Even though I've been logging in regularly to look after group submissions and stuff, I've not really being dA-ing all that much over the last few months. Things have been busy, my muse took a holiday for a while, I've been inspired in other directions. Photography ideas seem to be finding their way back to me at the moment though and I'll share them here as they happen, however infrequently that might be due to a general lack of time for indulging artistic things at the moment.

My message centre had reached that point where the number of things in it was genuinely terrifying so I hit the bad button and blasted it all away rather than procrastinate about dealing with everything that had built up in there since...whenever I last looked at anything other than group submissions. I suck. Forgive me?

My feelings about dA have been kind of caught in a drift lately. Even during the times when I don't visit often, I still think of this place as home. It's the place where I was first inspired to create artistic photography, where I've found lovely net-friends who I've been connected with for years since, where I feel like I can always return to and be accepted. For those reasons, it will always be special to me, as it and I change and grow.

Yesterday my friend Nadia (bleedsopretty) had some very sad news following an extremely difficult time. Her father, who had been suffering from cancer, passed away. Her family have fallen on hard times financially and are struggling to pay bills and medical costs associated with her father's illness. They are also finding it tough to cover the cost of the funeral, so have set up a fund on YouCaring.com to ask for help.

If you are able to contribute anything at all to help Nadia's family during this painful time, you can donate via this link.

It's been sooo long since I've done anything on dA apart from group admin stuff, so I just wanted to post something to say hi and let you all know that I haven't been abducted by aliens or anything. Life is super busy at the moment and although I'm still finding time for photography, other things are stealing my focus right now...like preparation and rehearsal for the Samhuinn Fire Festival in October (yay!).

If you have the desire to follow/stalk me, you can find me in the following places which I update a wee bit more regularly...

Time for a bit of a rant. You know what I'm totally, utterly and completely sick of? People whining about having their entitled little eyeballs polluted with (gasp!) stuff that isn't to their personal taste while looking at the front page of dA. If you're one of those people, here's a tiny little violin, playing just for you...

I'm not talking about people who don't want to see Mature Content. That's cool. If it doesn't float your boat, you can filter it out of your dA experience by following the instructions in this FAQ FAQ #93:How does the Mature Content option work?

I'm not talking about people who want to filter certain terms out of their searches, cause you can already do that by making use of the helpful information here FAQ #577:How do I use the Search?

I'm talking about people who actually believe that while using a massive, global art website which caters to artists who work in different mediums and different subject matters, artists all over the world of all ages and skill levels, they should actually have some sort of right to demand that when looking at one small section of the site they should only have to see stuff that they personally enjoy. Maybe those people need one of these...

Seriously, please just grow up and accept that sometimes, you will observe, in passing, a small thumbnail of something that doesn't float your boat. Create your own viewing experience with your watch list, by browsing specific galleries, visiting groups with subject matter that you enjoy, searching intelligently, browing More Like This, even setting up channels if you want FAQ #45:What are Channels and how do I use them?

Nothing bad will happen to you if, for a fleeting moment, a tiny picture of a My Little Pony or an anime chick or whatever traumatises your delicate little soul, falls into your field of vision. Ignore it. Click on the stuff you like. Hell, avoid the front page altogether if you find it too emotionally draining to look at. There are MANY other ways to view art on dA in a way that DO cater to your individual taste.

Customising your own browsing and viewing experience is fun and it's also completely down to your own choices and preferences. It's ok to have those. It's good to have those. It's better if you can take responsibility for them and know the difference between what you can do to enhance your own dA experience and what everyone else should have to do to stop your whining. Demanding that dA customises specific areas of the site (which exist as an over-view) based on what you personally do and don't want to look at is ridiculous. Seriously.

Community is a word that is used on dA a lot. It's a huge part of the site and the main reason why I love this place so much and have stuck around for so many years, even when I haven't had time to indulge in my art or felt like sharing it for whatever reason. I've made true friends here who I care for deeply and can't imagine not using dA in some capacity to keep in touch with all of you wonderful people.

The thing with a community, in my opinion, is that it's kind of a by-product. I don't mean that in a bad or belittling way. What I mean is that you can't actually force a community to thrive, or even to exist. You can provide a context (like a website or a message board or a physical-world organisation) and tools (like comments or chat features online or a room to meet in for offline events). You can invite people to join in, encourage them to interact and even moderate destructive or negative behaviour but you can't make a community - it's something that happens by itself, through the involvement and passion of the people who create and maintain it.

Conversely, I don't believe that a community can be destroyed by the introduction of additional features to the context. For example, I've seen so many people complaining on dA (for the entire time I've been here, not just recently) that things like prints, merch and Points are killing the community. You know what? They aren't. Yes, they are additional features for people who use the site and yes, they generate (OMG!) money, but they don't actually prevent you from engaging with the people you care about, interacting with strangers, making new friends, creating and sharing art, commenting on, critiquing and collecting other people's art or doing all the other things that make this community what it is.

These additional features don't (or at least shouldn't, in my opinion) reduce your desire to be a part of the community that you create just by being here, being yourself and doing your thing. You may choose not to get involved with areas of the site that don't interest you, but they don't actually stop you from enjoying the things that DO interest you. We are not only more than the sum of our parts, but we are more than simply the context and the tools provided for us.

As I'll be standing down from my CV position very soon, I'd like to ask everyone to NOT send me any more Daily Deviation suggestions please. Moonbeam13 has very kindly offered to look after Photography > Darkroom until a replacement for me is found. I will NOT be queuing up any more Daily Deviations so please don't direct your suggestions to me as I will not be featuring them.

Before stepping down as CV for Photography > Darkroom, I'd like to shine a light on some beautiful images which were suggested as Daily Deviations but didn't have a chance to be featured for whatever reason during the last year...

Before stepping down as CV for Photography > Darkroom, I'd like to shine a light on some beautiful images which were suggested as Daily Deviations but didn't have a chance to be featured for whatever reason during the last year...

It is with much love that I'm making this little announcement - I'm going to be stepping down as CV for Darkroom Photography within the next week. Due to a general overdose of volunteering over the last year (not just on dA), I've reached a point where I need some time for myself so am cutting back on volunteer responsibilities.

I have a few notes in my inbox and will get any remaining DDs queued up over the next few days. Moonbeam13 has kindly offered to look after Darkroom Photography until a new CV can be put in place, so please send your lovely DD suggestions to her for now.

I'm not going to be vanishing from dA or anything dramatic like that. In fact, you'll probably see a lot more of my photography than you have over recent months since I'll actually have time to be creative again! Thank you all for your support and encouragement over the last year. It has been an absolute honour to be a CV for a second time and I've loved every minute.

Hello lovelies! If you're wondering why I haven't been around much lately or haven't replied to your notes over the last few days, here's why. I'm on the Board of Directors for the Beltane Fire Society, the charity who run the epic Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh on 30th April every year. Yes, 5 days away. I'm currently putting in upwards of 20 hours a week (on a voluntary basis - the entire thing is run by volunteers, which is rather amazing when you think about it) working for the festival on top of my actual job, so everything else in my life has taken a back seat, at least for the moment.

Normal dA service will resume soon but I didn't want anyone thinking I was randomly slacking off or ignoring notes or comments. As well as numerous other tasks and missions, I look after the social media and online presence for BFS. If you want to check us out online, you can find us in the following places...

Tickets to the festival can be purchased here if you want to come along and watch. I shall be clad in purple, hanging out at the green Contact Point tent on top of Calton Hill, manically uploading photos, Tweeting, Facebooking and doing all sorts of other online stuff on the night, as well as chatting to audience members and press, so come and say hello!

Darkroom Exposed is a series of articles highlighting talented deviants, noteworthy art and helpful information all about the Photography > Darkroom gallery on dA.

Instant film is film which contains all the chemicals necessary to process and fix an image without the need to develop and print it after you take your picture. Chances are, when you think of instant film, you think of Polaroid and retro 70s colours. Fuji also make instant film, under the name Fujifilm Instax, and more recently, the Impossible Project saved the last Polaroid production plan to produce new instant film materials for traditional Polaroid cameras.

One of the beautiful things about instant film is that you can create unique, beautiful effects in your images even after the film has expired. Instant film also allows for intriguing processes like emulsion lifts, when you extract the image layer from a piece of film to place on another surface...paper, canvas, wood etc. You can also distress your instant film shots while they're developing to create unusual distressed effects.

Here are some gorgeous instant film shots from dA's Darkroom > Traditional > Instant Film gallery...

Inspired by Photography Troubleshooting: Which Camera Phone by Kaz-D, I asked some photographers to share images that they'd created with the camera that lives in their pocket - their phone! While a camera phone isn't exactly a substitute for a dSLR, it's often the only camera that most of us carry with us every day. Although your camera phone is probably more likely to be used for party photos and holiday snaps, there's no reason why it can't be used to create artistic pictures too, if you feel that way inclined.

It's all about knowing your tools and having fun! If art can be created with a plastic film camera with no viewfinder or a 30 year old Polaroid camera, surely a camera phone held by someone with an artistic eye can be just as valid. Here are some examples of gorgeous photos shot with a phone. Enjoy!